Catching Up
by Danielle Salvatore
Summary: "Damon", she breathed, trying to keep her composure. "What are you doing here?" He smirked. "Am I not allowed to visit my favorite little physic?" Despite herself, Bonnie felt butterflies in her stomach at his words, but she knew better then to get her hopes up too high. Bamon. One-shot.


Catching Up

**A/N: I know that it's been forever since I've written anything and that I suck XD. But I hope you guys like this one shot :) It's a future AU that takes place sometime after Midnight. (And no, before anyone asks, I have NOT read Phantom or Moonsong, and I never will. I've joined the boycott)**

"Hello redbird. Long time no see."

Bonnie stared, mouth gaped open at the sight of the familiar vampire sitting on the park bench.

It had been a year since she last saw him. He had left them all the day Elena finally made her choice, and officially decided to stay with Stefan.

After that, the rest of the gang had tried to move on with their lives.

Stefan and Elena had left together to go off and see the world. The only time Bonnie ever heard from either of them were the occasional letters. Each one addressed from whatever European country they were currently staying in.

Meredith was going to a college a small distance away from Bonnie's in order to stay close to Alaric. They were currently living together and engaged. But Bonnie still drove up to see them on the weekends, or vice versa.

Matt, like Stefan and Elena, was off travelling with his college football team to finish off his rookie season. But he never left the country, and Bonnie talked to him over the phone every few days or so.

And Bonnie…well, she was just trying to move on with her life.

She was attending Dalcrest College so she could stay close to home, and living on campus in a dorm.

At first, it had been difficult. Thoughts of everything she and the group had been through still overwhelmed her mind, and at night, a certain pair of dark eyes always seemed to be able to invade her dreams.

But after a few months, it slowly started to get easier. The dreams no longer came, and she made new friends. Even had a few crushes.

And best of all, she had finally managed to accept the fact that Damon was an unreachable dream and had been on the way to moving on.

But now that she saw him sitting their randomly on a park bench, she could feel all of the old feelings rush back instantly.

"Damon", she breathed, trying to keep her composure. "What are you doing here?"

He smirked. "Am I not allowed to visit my favorite little physic?"

Despite herself, Bonnie felt butterflies in her stomach at his words, but she knew better then to get her hopes up too high.

He had another agenda. He had to.

"Do you need something? Did Stefan or Elena send you?"

Perhaps something had happened to put the gang in danger again. But she desperately hoped that wasn't the case. She had just begun to get used normal, safe life at the college.

But her hope faded when Damon's dark eyes flashed in a business-like way.

"I'm here on my own accord. But there _is _danger." She watched him give a quick, barely noticeable look around the park before turning back to look at her. "We have run into a little snag. Word has it that the Dark Dimension has been more…corrupt lately. Slaves have been escaping and rebelling at rapid numbers."

He paused, and Bonnie sucked in a small breath at the intense way his eyes assessed her.

"Most blame the little act of rebellion the princess did during our visit there. And Sage is concerned that some may look for vengeance against her." He paused, and then added as a afterthought, "And her friends."

Bonnie gulped. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure. But for now, we are going to look for Elena and my little brother." He finally stood up from the bench. "You're coming with me."

His words were not a suggestion. They were a demand.

"Damon I….I can't."

His eyes narrowed. "You can, and you will."

Bonnie shook her head desperately. A part of her knew she was being a little irrational, but she couldn't help the feeling of dread that came over her at the thought of travelling with Damon.

She had worked so hard to get over him, and now he was going to make a year of effort crash down.

"I can't Damon", she repeated. "I…I'm in the middle of school. I can't just leave."

It was a weak excuse. But it was the best she could come up with.

His dark eyes rolled, as she expected them to.

"Let's go, redbird."

He made a grab at her arm, as if she hadn't said anything, and she leaped back.

"I don't want to go. Can't you just being Stefan and Elena here? And then I can call Matt and Meredith to meet us so we can all talk about it."

He regarded her warily, as if he was trying to figure out why she was so hell-bent on not leaving with him.

But it only lasted a few seconds, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Kitten, you're not wearing any vervain."

Bonnie's brown eyes widened in panic.

He was right. She hadn't worn any vervain for a while now. Everything had become so normal the past year that she hadn't needed to. Until now that is.

Before she even had a chance to try to run, Damon had a firm grip on her arm. Not strong enough to hurt her, but strong enough to make escape impossible.

"I'll scream", she warned, struggling a little in his grasp, even deep down knowing it was useless.

There weren't any other people in the park besides the two of them, but she was sure that if she screamed load enough, someone would hear.

"No you won't."

His tone wasn't threatening, just casual, as if he was telling her whether or not it would rain tonight.

"Please don't I…."

But she was broken off from speech as those midnight eyes engulfed her.

* * *

When she woke up, she was in a soft bed.

She rubbed her forehead as she slowly sat up; blinking her eyes to fully wake herself up, as she looked around the room she was in.

It looked like some sort of hotel room. Complete with one large, queen-sized bed, a small bathroom in the back corner, a table, and a TV set.

Her brown eyes narrowed as she just sat there for a few minutes, trying to remember exactly what happened before she passed out.

She had run into Damon randomly at the park. And he had tried to get her to leave with him to go find Stefan and Elena, due to a new danger coming after them from the Dark Dimension.

Then he'd noticed that she wasn't wearing vervain, and….it all became hazy after that.

Damon had compelled her.

Bonnie's small hands fisted at the blanket angrily upset at knowing she'd had her free will taken away.

"Damon?"

It was only then did she notice that the vampire in question was nowhere in sight.

Frowning, she got out of the bed, and headed towards the hotel room door.

But just as she was about to approach it, the door swung open, and Damon was suddenly standing in front of her, his dark eyes staring at her amusingly.

"Redbird. Glad to see you're awake."

His tone was causal. As if she was just now waking up from a much needed nap.

Bonnie sighed and looked down. Arguing with him would be hopeless….she knew that. Once Damon had made up his mind about something, it was near possible to change it. To him, he was completely in the right to compel her.

But that didn't mean she couldn't at least get some answers out of him.

She finally forced herself to look into his eyes. "Where are we?"

His answer surprised her.

"Richmond", he answered flatly, as he stepped further into the hotel room, walking towards a large black bag in the far left corner.

"Richmond?" Bonnie exclaimed, eyes widening. Richmond was HOURS away from Fells Church!

"How long was I asleep?"

"Five hours", he answered, most of his attention on the contents of the black bag as he looked through it. After a few moments, he seemed to have found what he was looking for, and turned back towards her, handing her what looked like a flight passport.

"Hang onto that. We'll be going to the Richmond airport in just a few minutes."

"Why?"

"I contacted my brother. He and Elena are currently staying in our villa in Florence. We're going to meet them there."

Bonnie's eyes widened again. They were going to fly to Italy?

"But…but what about Matt and Meredith? Aren't they in danger too?"

"We'll come back for them once we discuss our plans in Florence", Damon said stubbornly, opening the hotel door for her like the Renaissance gentleman he was. "Now let's go."

Bonnie stayed planted to place she was standing.

"Damon…we should take them too."

Damon sighed exasperatedly. "We don't have time. Now come along."

When she still didn't move, he frowned in annoyance. "Redbird, I don't want to have to influence you again."

From the tone of his voice, she knew it wasn't an empty threat. He really would do it if she didn't cooperate.

With a small sigh of defeat, she slowly nodded and followed him.

* * *

The plane ride was long…and awkward. At least for her.

There were many things she wanted to ask Damon, but was a little too shy to.

For instance, why did he have no problem leaving Matt and Meredith alone, when he was completely insistent on taking her to Italy with him for safety? And it wasn't like he simply couldn't afford to take Meredith and Matt. She knew Damon was rich, and even if he wasn't, he could simply compel their way onto the plane.

For a while, neither of them said anything. But after twenty minutes or so, Damon surprised her by breaking the silence.

"How have you been redbird?"

She turned towards him timidly. "I've been…okay. Just trying to move on with my life. I'm planning on taking four years at Dalcrest. What about you? I….I missed you when you left, you know."

She was surprised at herself for admitting that, and her cheeks flushed red.

But it was true. Even though she had tried to move on from Damon, and had even begun to succeed a little, there was still always a small part of her that wanted to see him again.

Damon chuckled quietly, and she wasn't sure if it was at her confession, or her blush…or both. Either way, she could feel her cheeks growing even redder in response to it.

Leave it to Damon Salvatore to still manage to make her act like a blushing little girl….

"Travelling the world. Attending to….certain businesses. I wasn't aware that a certain little maiden missed me."

She could have sworn she heard a flirtatious tint in the tone of his voice as he said this, and she giggled, hiding her face in her lap to cover her blush.

"Well, she did. A lot."

* * *

Their arrival in Florence went better then she thought it would be. Elena had quickly embraced her in a sisterly hug when she and Damon and arrived at the villa, and despite the circumstances on how she was brought there, it was nice to see Elena and Stefan again.

After the warm welcoming, the planning had begun.

Apparently, Sage was still in the Dark Dimension, hiding out and sending out messages to Damon about what was going on there.

Things were going rapid there….and many threats and promises of finding and destroying the golden haired, blue-eyed slave that had corrupted everything.

It meant that Elena, most importantly, had to be protected.

_Of course_, Bonnie thought a bit bitterly. _It's ALWAYS about Elena, isn't it?"_

But just as quickly as the words had entered her mind, she quickly discarded them. This wasn't Elena's fault. She'd only been doing the right thing back in the dimension, when she had thrown herself in front of Lady Ulma to save her from the whipping, and those rare times where she had managed to speak encouraging words of rebellion to the slaves they often encountered.

As usual, people were just drawn to her like moths to a flame. In both positive senses, and negative ones.

She was only half listening as the brothers and Elena discussed their plans, too lost in her own thoughts.

But she had noticed something strange. Damon had not once tried to flirt with Elena the entire meeting. Every time he addressed her, he never had that usual flirtatious smile or that mysterious gleam in his eyes that he normally had around her. Instead, they were replaced with expressions of pure business-like glances, and occasionally cocky grins.

It was kind of weird, but also strangely relieving.

And she mentally kicked herself when that relief wouldn't go away.

* * *

Later that night, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Bonnie snuck down to the first floor of the two-story villa to sit down by the fire.

She wasn't exactly sure why she felt the need to come down here. Maybe it was because it was too quiet in her room….and it gave her mind more chances to wander off into a certain forbidden topic. At least here, the crackle of the flames could slightly distract her.

She closed her eyes as she sat down in the armchair next to the fireplace, and placed her hands out to warm them.

"Not trying to execute an escape plan, are you kitten?"

She jumped up, startled at the voice, and opened her eyes to look in the direction it came from, where a low chuckle at the sight of her being scared was already sounding.

It was Damon. Of course...

"No", she said truthfully, and she instantly became frustrated with herself when her voice had a slight waver in it from nervousness.

Way to make it sound like you're not lying McCullough….

The dark vampire crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not convinced. "Are you sure?"

Bonnie nodded quickly. "I honestly wasn't, Damon. I just….I wanted some time for myself down here, that's all."

_I wanted to distract myself, so that I wouldn't think about you. My room was too quiet…._

"Being alone in your room wasn't enough?" He surprised her by coming over to sit by her on the other armchair next to the fireplace, and her heart did a little flutter.

_No. I came out here so that I could stop myself from falling back in love with you. And you're not making it any easier…._

She shrugged, and hoped it looked casual. "I like the fireplace."

It was a lame excuse. But he either bought it, or didn't seem to care enough to continue questioning it.

There was an awkward silence, and Bonnie hoped he didn't hear how her heart rate was picking up…

"Can I ask you something?" She finally supplied. While he was down here, she might as well try to get some answers out of him. Even a failed attempt was better than the silence.

He only nodded as a response, and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"If you think Matt and Meredith are safe enough where they are, why did you make me come with you?"

_It's not like I'm going to be too much help with the planning. And it sure would have made things easier if you'd just left me alone…_

"You're more important to me then they are", he answered casually, as if it was a simple conclusion that she should have come to on her own.

"Oh", she replied lamely, and immediately wanted to smack herself. "But…they are safe, aren't they?"

"They should be. But with you, my little songbird….I don't like to take chances."

It was a bit hard to see clearly in the dimness of the room, and Bonnie both hated it and felt grateful towards it. Grateful, because she was sure her cheeks were scorching by now, and hopefully, Damon didn't notice in the darkness of the room, and hated it, because she couldn't see Damon's expression.

But she did know one thing: He was leaning towards her, slowly closing the gap of space between them.

Before she could get a word out, his cool lips were pressing against hers, softly, but with an intensity that made her head swim.

Bonnie moaned softly, and Damon took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, pulling her closer as he parted her lips further in an open-mouth kiss.

It was very different from all of their past kisses. This one, though it had the same gentleness that all of their past ones had, had a certain spark to it, and it made the longing all the more stronger.

When they parted, Bonnie's breathes came out in a slight pant, as she looked at Damon questionably.

"Damon, what was…."

"You should really learn to block your thoughts, redbird."

She flushed. "You…you heard what I was thinking?"

He nodded. "Every word." When she looked down towards the floor in embarrassment, he placed a figure under chin, gently lifting it up to make her look into his dark eyes. "You you ought to learn to not doubt yourself so much."

He kissed her forehead briefly, before shooting her one of his rare, genuine smiles. "Go get some sleep. I'd like to take you around tomorrow and show you the many sights of Florence, and I tend to not like to be kept waiting."

She smiled back at him, her embarrassment having vanished. "Good night Damon."

"Goodnight Bonnie. _il mio dolce uccellino rosso."._

Bonnie couldn't stop smiling to herself as she climbed the stairs back to her bedroom.

She wasn't exactly sure if she and Damon were on the same exact page yet, but tonight, in her mind, was his way of showing that they could be one day.

It may be a risk putting her feelings out there again, but it was a promising one. And it was worth taking.

**The End**

**A/N: Eh, not my favorite that I've written, but I hope you guys still liked the fluff at the end there :) AND since I'm the lamest fanfic author when it comes to updating (I really don't deserve you guys as readers) I'm going to let you pick which story is updated first.**

**Would you like: Arranging Love, Falling In Love Through Shakespeare, or Dark World? I'll update the one that gets the most votes in reviews first :)**


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